Evan Howe, Ethan Howe Disqualified from Tournament

BROOKELAND, Texas (Jan. 6, 2026) – Boater Cole Moore of Anacoco, Louisiana, caught a total of five bass weighing 19 pounds, 15 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Sam Rayburn Reservoir. The tournament, hosted by Jasper County Development District, was the first event of the season for the 2026 BFL, and was the first of five events for the BFL Cowboy Division. Moore earned $7,360 for his victory, including the lucrative $2,500 Phoenix MLF Bonus.

Boaters Evan Howe and Ethan Howe, both of Keatchie, Louisiana, were disqualified from the event. The disqualification stems from a protest alleging the anglers violated BFL Rule No. 10, which states, in part, that contestants may not use mobile communication devices to communicate with anyone about locating or catching fish on tournament waters during tournament hours.

Evan Howe admitted to the violation upon speaking with the tournament director as part of MLF’s investigation and turned over a text message exchange with Ethan Howe. The boaters are brothers, and Evan insists they were not familiar with the rule.

As a result of Evan’s disqualifications, boater Cole Moore moves up from second to first place in the tournament and will receive the first-place payout. Third through sixth place finishers in the tournament will each move up a spot with points and payouts adjusted accordingly.

As a result of Ethan’s disqualification, boater Colby Miller of Elmer, Louisiana moves up from eighth to sixth place and will receive $680. All places below eight will each move up two spots with points and payouts adjusted accordingly.

Rules governing the use of mobile communications devices during tournament hours are covered during the pretournament meeting at every BFL tournament.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Cole Moore, Anacoco, La., five bass, 19-15, $7,360 (includes $2,500 Phoenix bonus)
2nd:      Wyatt Frankens, Corrigan, Texas, five bass, 19-8, $2,400
3rd:       Ricky Guy, Humble, Texas, five bass, 19-6, $1,170
4th:        William Easley, Pollok, Texas, five bass, 17-14, $920
5th:        Jeffery Rice, Shreveport, La., five bass, 17-12, $800
6th:        Colby Miller, Elmer, La., five bass, 17-1, $680
7th:        Hut Reeves, Tyler, Texas, five bass, 16-14, $650
8th:        Joshua Tepley, Harrah, Okla., five bass, 15-4, $610
9th:        James Laramore, Vidor, Texas, five bass, 14-15, $580
10th:     Doug Odom, Huntsville, Texas, five bass, 14-14, $550

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Zachary McDaniel of Pitkin, Louisiana, won the co-angler division and the top prize of $2,530 Saturday after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 11 pounds, 10 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Zachary McDaniel, Pitkin, La., three bass, 11-10, $2,530
2nd:      Jeremy Edwards, Lufkin, Texas, three bass, 9-6, $1,200
3rd:       Larry Stewart Jr., Brandon, Miss., three bass, 9-5, $585
4th:        Shane Landry, Winnie, Texas, three bass, 8-11, $460
5th:        Rick Habarka, North Little Rock, Ark., three bass, 8-10, $370
5th:        J.J. Matzke, League City, Texas, three bass, 8-10, $370
7th:        David Gandaria, Hemphill, Texas, three bass, 8-4, $330
8th:        James Grizzle, Many, La., three bass, 7-14, $305
9th:        Jacob Smith, Frisco, Texas, three bass, 7-13, $290
10th:     Sean Johnson, Chalmette, La., three bass, 7-10, $275

Tournament winner McDaniel also earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $100 after landing a 7-pound, 12-ounce bass.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the division based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 22-24 BFL Regional tournament on Grand Lake in Grove, Oklahoma. Boaters will fish for a top award of a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard worth $50,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top prize of a new Phoenix 518 pro with a 115-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard, worth $33,500.

The 2026 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying tournament winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top seven, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2026 BFL All-American will take place May 28-30, at Lake Murray in Columbia, South Carolina, and is hosted by Capital City Lake Murray Country Regional Tourism.

Proud sponsors of the 2026 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7 Brew, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, Cigars International, Epic Baits, Grizzly, Lew’s, Mercury, MillerTech, Mystik Lubricants, OFF! Deep Woods, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, PirahnO2, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Strike King, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, VOSKER, YETI and Yuengling.

For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular BFL updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Outdoor Channel, VICE, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network, RFD-TV and Game & Fish TV, and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.